Despite advances in custom hardware and software which make computers accessible to visually impaired individuals, service delivery systems have not kept pace with the technology. A range of new services needs to be established through computer-access centers if visually impaired individuals are to realize full benefits of the new technologies.…

Presents a catalogue of microcomputer courseware specifically designed for use in learning German. Covers four types of software: (1) authoring systems for drill and practice, (2) drill and practice programs that are self-contained, (3) authoring systems that create game-like materials, and (4) game programs. Includes a listing of publishers and…

Indicates that easy-to-use word processing programs may lack important features that students need as they progress beyond the introductory level, showing how several powerful commands are used for multiple-class projects, class journals, and other classroom activities. Also compares (in chart format) six popular word processing programs. (JN)

Describes the use and advantages of a computer version of the Gunning Fog Index. Presents the program for input and use on a Radio Shack TRS-80 computer. (HTH)

Outlines how the National Education Association's Educational Computer Service program for evaluation of educational software is run, and responds to critics of the program. (MD)

Enumerates principal management objectives of database management systems (data independence, quality, security, multiuser access, central control) and criteria for comparison (response time, size, flexibility, other features). Conventional database management systems, relational databases, and database machines used for backend processing are…

Using simulated data, the MULTILOG and PARSCALE software packages were compared for their recovery of item and trait parameters under the graded response and generalized partial credit item response theory models. The shape of the latent population distribution (normal, skewed, or uniform) and the sample size (250 or 500) were varied. Parameter…

This book is combined with a Web site to allow the reader to acquire the basic concepts of item response theory without becoming enmeshed in the underlying mathematical and computational complexities. The first edition, with its accompanying software, was designed to give the reader access to the basic concepts of item response theory without…

This report presents basic theoretical and methodological assumptions for investigating the relationship between competence and qualifications by means of simulation tasks. An analysis of the types of tasks that have been used in the study of problem solving psychology serves as a background for an exposition of the relationship between competence…

The least mean squares (LS) regression method produced the best linear unbiased estimates under the normal error distribution. However, many researchers have noted that the optimal condition is rarely met in real data analyses. To remedy the impact of potential data contamination, several advantages of the least median squares (LMS) regression are…

This paper studied how individual qualitative researchers perceive that their research procedures and perspectives have been influenced by the adoption of computer assisted qualitative data software. The study focused on Nud*Ist software (non-numerical Unstructured Data; Indexing, Searching, and Theorizing). The seven participants ranged from new…

Problem solving is of critical importance in many disciplines. In medicine, the clinician's ability to arrive at the correct diagnosis often means the difference between life and death. Despite its importance and a significant amount of research regarding how to improve problem solving, few unambiguous answers have emerged for promoting problem…

Predictive discriminant analysis and descriptive discriminant analysis are described, and the use of three popular statistical packages to obtain computational results for each type of discriminant analysis is reviewed. Results from two Biomedical Computer Program (BMDP), four Statistical Analysis System, and two Statistical Package for the Social…

A Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program is described that computes four common clustering measures used to analyze free recall of information from categorized lists. Computed are a ratio of repetition, a modified ratio of repetition, an adjusted ratio of clustering, and a deviation score for stimulus lists. (SLD)

Accessibility and accuracy are important attributes for either manual or electronic support tools. Training with performance support tools will fail if it uses the same approach, only electronic; has no mechanism for keeping content up to date; and is not integrated with the job. (SK)